I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! is back which can mean only one thing… the time has come for another batch of celebrities to head down under and battle it out in TV’s toughest challenge.
Leaving their plush pads and luxuries far behind, the celebrity camp mates will spend up to three weeks taking on the harsh surroundings of the Australian jungle, with a whole host of brand new nasty surprises created just for them.
The 10 celebrities heading into the jungle for the new series are: Former world heavy weight boxing champion David Haye, Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan, Entertainer Brian Conley, Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, actor Colin Baker, EastEnders star Charlie Brooks, Made In Chelsea’s Hugo Taylor, actress Linda Robson, darts champion Eric Bristow and Pussy Cat Doll, Ashley Roberts
This year, the I’m a Celebrity team have pulled out all the stops to ensure that the celebrities will face alarming shocks, startling surprises and nail biting challenges.
Here’s our guide to the contestants and their latest odds to be be crowned King, or Queen, of the Jungle in the competition which gets underway this Sunday (9pm ITV1):
David Haye
Age: 32
Phobias: I hate losing Missing any special occasions: Aside from training, no
Miss most: Gadgets and boys’ toys! Dream camper: Will Smith. Multi talented, inspirational and could spar in the gym
Relationship status: Married
Odds: 15/2 Stan James
He may be a former WBA heavyweight champion, but David Haye admits going into the jungle will be one of the toughest challenges he has ever faced.
The 32-year-old, who is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, says sleeping out in the wild will take him completely out of his comfort zone – and he is looking forward to the prospect of seeing how he will cope.
“When you step into a boxing ring, you are putting your life on the line. It is a sport and if you take a punch badly, it is life changing. In that respect, going in the jungle will not be harder.
“But I do think it is going to be tough because it’s a situation I am not familiar with. It’s out of my comfort zone and being in the jungle will present its own challenges.”
Colin Baker
Age: 69
Phobias: Heights, standing at the edge of a cliff rather than jumping out of planes. Not too fond of spiders either
Missing any special occasion: Half of the rehearsals for my role as Nanny Nelly in pantomime at Bournemouth.
Miss most: My family Dream camper: Derren Brown. He can hypnotise me into thinking I am eating steak and chips rather than witchetty grubs! Relationship status: Married
Odds: 20/1 generally
One of the most famous actors ever to play Dr Who, Colin Baker is looking forward to his stint in the jungle because he hopes to lose a stone and a half in weight.
The 69-year-old star, who was the 6th incarnation of Dr Who between 1984 and 1986, admits he’d love to walk out of the camp thinner than when he entered. “I am a rather large gentleman and I adore my food,” he says. “I could give up booze with a drop of a hat but food, my gosh there is not even a fridge I can raid in the middle of the night!
“But I am seeing this as an opportunity to lose weight. I am aiming for at least a stone and a half and it would be fabulous if I can. I just then hope I can keep it off once I am out!”
Brian Conley
Age: 51
Phobias: It wasn’t a frozen fear but up until recently, I didn’t like rats.
Missing any special occasions: No Miss most: Aside from my wife and family, food!
Dream camper: Christopher Biggins
Relationship status: Married
Odds: 7/2 fav Boylesports
TV entertainer Brian Conley has made sure he is fully prepared for life in the jungle – by overcoming his dislike of rats and allowing eight to run all over him.
Whilst his dislike of rodents has never got to a point where he has been frozen with fear, 51-year-old Brian – who first shot to fame in the 1980s and went on to become one of the country’s most popular TV personalities starring in dozens of hit shows including Live from Her Majesty’s and The Brian Conley Show – admits they are the one animal he dreaded facing the most and it’s the reason why he decided to go on a special trip to a Newcastle rat farm as soon as he found out he was going to the jungle.
“I am pretty good when it comes to phobias but I don’t like rats,” explains Brian.
“That’s because I have never met rats and so when I got accepted to go on the show, I made a point of visiting a farm that has rats in Newcastle. I have watched every series and I know in the past, celebrities have had to get inside plastic coffins with rats running over them. I knew that if I wanted to get any sleep, I had better get used to them!
Eric Bristow
Age: 55
Phobias: None
Missing any special occasions: A TV darts championship in Wolverhampton.
Miss most: “As I can smoke in the jungle, nothing.”
Dream celebrity camper: Muhammad Ali
Relationship Status: Single
Odds: 14/1 Betfred, Boylesports, Ladbrokes
As one of the country’s most famous darts players, Eric Bristow is renowned for keeping his cool under pressure, but he reckons living in the jungle will be far tougher than performing in any world championship.
Talking about the pressures of sleeping wild with his fellow celebrities, the likeable 55-year-old, nicknamed the ‘Crafty Cockney’ for his skill at the game in the 1980s, admits: “Going on I’m A Celebrity will definitely be more tense than playing in a darts game. There is a different pressure and everything will be so different. There is bound to be someone in there who is a game player too. But as the day gets nearer to going into the jungle, I am getting excited. It’s going to be so much fun and I’m really looking forward to it.”
The main reason for taking part in the hit ITV1 show, says Bristow, is the fact he likes ‘mad’ things. And according to the five times BDO world champion, his children think he is ‘nuts’. Laughing, Eric explains: “I was first asked to do I’m A Celebrity four years ago but it clashed with the world darts championship and I couldn’t do it. Ever since then, my children have been telling me to do it. They think I am nuts and mad.”
Hugo Taylor
Age: 26
Phobias: Small spaces, the underground and spiders
Missing any special occasions: No
Miss most: My family, friends and girlfriend.
Dream camper: “Keith Richards would be cool. He would definitely keep me entertained”
Relationship Status: Dating
Odds: 12/1 generally
He’s famous for living in one of the most expensive areas of London and as Made in Chelsea star Hugo Taylor swaps his luxurious lifestyle for sleeping under the stars in the wild, he hopes to use the opportunity to show people there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Admitting he felt completely ‘overwhelmed’ when approached to take part on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, the 26-year-old entertainment PR says he wants to dispel the myth that he only knows people who live in Chelsea.
“When I did Made in Chelsea, you only got to know a part of me and you didn’t see the whole of me,” he explains. “You only saw me interact with my peer group and I think it’s going to be interesting to see me interact with people who aren’t from my life and not from London. I do have friends who aren’t from Chelsea. It’s going to be nice to show who I really am.” And as if to prove he really does mean what he says, Hugo insists it’s not his home comforts he will miss the most – but his family.
“As the clocks ticks for us to go in the jungle, I have been going to bed and loving that feeling,” he adds. “But I am a real home bird. I love my life in London and I am going to really miss my friends, family and my girlfriend.”
Charlie Brooks
Age: 31
Phobias: I don’t have any as such, but I don’t like the idea of rats or insects crawling all over my body
Missing any special occasions: The wedding and hen do of one of my best friends Miss most: My daughter, Kiki.
Dream camper: Christopher Biggins
Relationship Status: Dating
Odds: 9/2 bet365, Betfred, BetVictor
For actress Charlie Brooks, being separated from her daughter is going to be her toughest challenge.
Charlie and Kiki have been inseparable over the last few months as they have enjoyed a mother/daughter road trip across Europe, camping out under the stars together after the actress got permission to take some time out from her role as Janine Butcher in the popular soap.
And now as she prepares to go into the jungle, the 31-year-old confides that it’s going to be hard not being, seeing or talking to her daughter every day.
“From a selfish point of view, it’s going to be hard,” says Charlie. “I will miss her a lot but I know she is with my family and I know she will be looked after well.”
Explaining why she wanted to take part, Charlie says she loves new adventures.
“I have been camping a lot and I love it,” she says. “I haven’t jumped out of a plane, but I have done some bungee jumps before and so when I got offered this, I decided to accept. “I have surprised myself by saying yes, but now I am going I am really excited.”
Helen Flanagan
Age: 22
Phobias: Jumping out of a plane and spiders
Missing any special occasions: My sister’s 20th birthday.
Miss most: My boyfriend. (Manchester City player Scott Sinclair) Dream camper: Someone who is funny and makes me laugh. Relationship Status: Dating
Odds: 11/2 bet365, Stan James
After quitting Coronation Street’s cobbles in February to enjoy a well-earned break, Helen Flanagan can’t wait to rough it in the wild and show millions how different she is away from her soap character in real life.
And the pretty star, who played Rosie Webster for 12 years in ITV1’s top soap, looks like she will certainly bring some glamour to the camp as she vows to pack three bikinis in her rucksack and slap plenty of fake tan on.
“People don’t expect me to be in the jungle and one of my big reasons for doing I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! is I like to have different options, “ says Helen. “I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket and I like to take things how they come.
“I also always go with my instinct too and when the offer came through, it felt right to do this. What’s so nice about this show is I can go in as me. It won’t be my toughest role yet because I am being me rather than someone else.
“I loved being in Coronation Street and I loved playing Rosie but now I am going in the jungle, I am going to completely throw myself into it.
Linda Robson
Age: 54
Phobias: A trial involving a coffin. Used to have a phobia of rats until she was hypnotised on This Morning six months ago.
Missing any special occasions: My husband’s birthday
Miss most: My granddaughter.
Dream camper: Boy George
Relationship status: Married
Odds: 10/1 generally
Lying in a coffin with rats and mice crawling over her is one trial Birds of a Feather star Linda Robson says she will refuse to do if she gets picked on I’m a Celebrity….Get Me Out Of Here!
The charming and popular actress, who has just finished a tour of the TV show that made her famous and who is a regular guest on Loose Women, says the trial reminds her of going for an MRI scan.
“My big thing is the coffin,” admits Linda. “I have made it clear that if I get a challenge like that, we won’t get any food. I am not getting in a coffin. “I have done a lot of scary things over the years but I am not doing that. I realise that when I am in the jungle that I might think differently.”
Six months ago, Linda also agreed to appear on This Morning to help her cure her terrible phobia of rats. “Nik and Eva Speakman came on the show and they hypnotised me,” she recalls. “I am so scared of rats and mice. They gave me some cognitive therapy too and I haven’t thought about rats nearly as much since that day. They are not on my mind as much and I know that if I do see any rats in the jungle, I just need to think of something funny that will make me laugh.”
Aside from her jungle fears, Linda is also dreading leaving her family behind. Now a grandmother as well as a mum to three children, the actress knows it will be very emotional. She says: “I love being a grandmother so much and I am going to miss them all terribly. Normally I am quite a strong person but this is going to be tough. It’s harder because nobody can get in touch with me.“
Nadine Dorries
Age: 55
Phobias: rats and mice
Missing any special occasions: “Local elections, a by-election, and the Tatler ball”.
Miss most: Aside from my three daughters, my dog.
Dream camper: Sir Winston Churchill
Relationship Status: Dating
Odds: 25/1 Coral, sportingbet
Conservative MP for Mid-Bedfordshire Nadine Dorries reckons Westminster has proved a fantastic training ground for her stint as the first-ever serving politician to appear on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
“Westminster is a jungle,” declares the 55-year-old politician. “Game playing, tactics, strategies. In Westminster you achieve everything by vote. This is the same. The parallels are huge.”
As one of the country’s most outspoken female MPs, Nadine, who was elected in 2005, says the fact she has had to learn to survive in the House of Commons will mean she will be able to apply the same techniques living in the wild.
She admits: “Politics is a very difficult and a hard world. Nobody realises that until they get there and it takes a certain amount of front, especially as a woman, to survive it. Everyone has different techniques in Westminster. Some people shut down, some people keep themselves to themselves and everyone has a different technique. This will be another one. I work in a jungle.”
Ashley Roberts
Age: 31
Phobias: Enclosed spaces and rodents
Missing any special occasions: “Thanksgiving. It’s a big holiday and my family always get together for it. I am sad I am missing it.”
Miss most: My dog
Dream camper: Kimberly Wyatt or any of the girls from Pussycat Dolls.
Relationship Status: Single
Odds:20/1 generally
She is the sexy former member of the Pussycat Dolls and as Ashley Roberts goes into the jungle, she admits she would be over the moon if she met the man of her dreams under the stars.
Smiling the 31-year-old singer, who quit the American band two years ago to pursue a solo career, thinks the British men are incredibly charming.
“I love their accent,” she says. “British men are very charming and if the man of my dreams is in the jungle, then let it be! I am 100 per cent single.”
But the singer admits she is nervous about overcoming all the hurdles that will be thrown at her whilst she is on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
“I am so nervous about getting in the jungle and getting through some of the challenges,” she says.
